Wichita eagle., 1887-01-13
SAAlIl<Sw
9a11Y Ea01e
" THAT'S A TWISTER." !"
ADVENTURES OF AMATEUR CLIMB
ERS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
"A Party o. "Tenderfeet on the Noun
tain TOp-After Tiresome Journey.
An Approaching Storm-A Scene of
WondrOus Beauty.

An Approaching Storm-A Scene of
Wondrous Beauty.
"That's twister," said the gentleman from
Kansas "You mountain connoiseuIs may
not grasp at once the full meaning OF the YER
nacular Of the plains, but l wish to say, as
enphatically as / can without swearing, that
there is a twister with the corlscrew end
down, and if there is dugOut in this vicinity
j think We had better creep in" Saying this
lie pointed with cyclonic twisting motion OF
lis extended arm toward an ugly looking
black cioud fiaring out above and on either
side OF Cameron's cone; pointed to the forked
chain lightning, every bolt of which seemed
to strike on the face Of the mountain cone
like a fifty ton sledge hammer, with a sound
every time as though the thunderbolt had
sent the rocks crashing down steep incline
of 1900 o. 3, coo feet; 10 a darkening mist, a
shadowy uncertainty that seemed 10 fall be-
tween the cloud and where the party stood,
and with memory of cyclones in his mind the
man from Kansas insisted that if the fellows
did not seek shelter at once they ought to be
III an insane asylum.
AN APPROACHING STORH.
They stood, this party Of six or eight in
Crystal park, more than 1900 feet above
Manitou, looking off at storm approaching
rapidly from the direction of Pixies peak.
They were "tenderfeet," all OF them. They
were new to the mountains; were bankers
anG lawyers and merchants who had climbed
that forenoon to the little vale nesting at the
very top of Hiawatha mountain, hidden, as
it were, between the top of one ridge and the
higher elevation Of Cameron's cone. The
Al,
Up, bat they had scrambled up steep ascents,
climbed along the new trail for three hours
under the impression that they had Travelled
in that one forenoon fifteen miles. They had
exul1ed in every step they had taken. From
twenty different points they had the most
magnificent view.
Winding about the highest point Of Hia-
watha mountain they had got n glimpse OF
Pixies peak il the forenoon sunlight that was
worth iii itself thousand miles journey.
They had seen Mantou and all the country
about it, the picturesque canyons, the Garden
OF the Gods, the near and distant ranges from
points of vantage, and with these picturesque
views constantly before them, with the new
experience OF looking down dizzy heights, of
piucling brilliantly c0lOred mountain flowers,
OF taking IL the odorous sweet and huoyant
air, they had climbed and climbed over and
around rocks, following the unexpected! twists
and turns Of the mountain trail, until at last
they crossed the summit, left the region of
pines, walked with not e little beWilderment
into group Of mountain aspens, came first
on the ideal mountain spring throwing a
crystal flood across a mountain meadow, and
then upon huge log house with tents built
about it, and with hammocks swung to the
trees. This they were told was Crystal park.
DOWN TIE TRAIL.
After such an old fashioned dinner as they
had not found elsewhere in Colorado, they
had started down the Old trail Oh the return
trip TO nanitou-the mountain rancnmen OF
eastern aHtecedents assuring them that it
would not rain during the afternoon. Not
200 yards away, before they had emerged
from the aspen grove, the gentleman from
Kansas broke out with his remarks upon the
cycionic impulses of the coming storm
There was a minutes debate, when an ex-
member of the Nebraska legislature moved
the previous question, and the whole crowd
went at rapid walk toward the ranchmans
house.
Just as they stepped inside there came a
roaring i'll the air, and, without further
warning, from every direction storm of
hail and rain. Hail stones large and round
came iii drifts down the mountain side, roll |
ing like circles of snow; came in whrls from |
above and from the side; came down in such |
abundance that in five minutes the ground. |
the mountains, the houses were covered with /
two or three inches of solid, shining crystals, |
for after this tremendous pelting of haistones |
the cloud broke away, or was torn away |
from the mountain top, and the sun shone out |
in splendor, and the tyyister had come ami /